Sweden becomes first nation to open electric highway that powers trucks using overhead lines

[learninmypc]

Although that is a good question, Seattle has had electric trolleys for decades with very little if any such problems https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolleybuses_in_Seattle

 

[captaincranky]

Although that is a good question, Seattle has had electric trolleys for decades with very little if any such problems

Well, as I tried to explain earlier, Philadelphia has a very active (on city streets) trolley system and also had a "trolley bus", also called, "trackless trolleys". The trolley buses ran with twin poles and all overhead power.

First and foremost, those wire poles are pretty stout, and they're pretty hard to take down with a car. It's also pretty dumb to run around worrying about downed wires from vehicles striking the supply standards.

Trolley-buses are viable, but I think they're much more practical for relatively short, closed loop systems, as opposed to a couple of hundred miles of interstate highway. And then you have the issue of sharing the roads with oil based fuel vehicles. Trolley bus systems were installed decades ago, and like any other type of bus, they're there whether you like it or not. Not so with long haul trucking. In fact, sometimes truckers change lanes by virtue of obstacles and the expediences of keeping moving. This isn't really possible with fixed overhead wiring.

Perhaps the poster you're replying has never seen a thunderstorm, where trees fly into houses, and active wires are laying all over the roads. Although I will grant you, a downed wire on the freeway would cause the most amazing rush hour traffic jamb you've ever seen.

I still think this whole idea smacks of political corruption or an appeasement to the eco-hysterical, "we must electrify the entire planet by Saturday or we're all doomed", lunatic fringe.

And don't get me started about how Musk, will of course, have a battery solution for the problem. It will however, take up most of the trailer's capacity, and won't be available until that douche gets someone to build a "giga-factory" for him in Sweden.

I can see Sweden's economy swirling around the bowl, if they ever manage to convince themselves this is viable on a nationwide scale.

 

[learninmypc]

Seattle also has light rail trains running on a similiar yet different set up http://www.soundtransit.org/schedules/link-light-rail Electric trains

 

[captaincranky]

Seattle also has light rail trains running on a similiar yet different set up http://www.soundtransit.org/schedules/link-light-rail Electric trains...[ ]...

You're still going to have a very difficult task impressing me with Seattle's transportation electrification. I live within 5 miles of Philadelphia's "30th Street Station", which is Philly's equivalent of NYC's, "Grand Central Station". The entire Northeast corridor has been electrified, probably before I was born. Amtrak has just purchased 100 new electric locos, and this is the 3rd generation of electric locomotives I've lived through, starting with the Mighty "GG-1". Hell, even PRR's tiny switching locos were electric.

So, the electric infrastructure has been around for decades. It was also constructed when the US has had the means to pay for it..

Now, as it should be obvious, there is quite a bit of tension required to hold poles or pantographs against the over head wires. Which is fine, when you're running on rails.

But suppose an electric semi wants or needs to change lanes. You need an auxiliary electric power system, or a damned diesel engine anyway, to power the truck while it's off the wires. You also have to concoct a way to retract the pantographs, and extend them again when you want to go back, "under the wire". So, you need aux power, which basically means the tractor has to be a "hybrid". Batteries, electric motors, or fuel combustion engines need to be BIG, to haul the average 80,000 pounds of truck and cargo. All of which need to be installed, unless you intend on wiring every street, road, boulevard, and superhighway in the entire country. Now the reason electrics can be so powerful, is the the fact the "fuel" isn't on board the vehicle. That works great for rail and short hop systems, but when it, "absolutely, positively, has to be there overnight", (to places which aren't wired), try imagining how much cargo capacity you're going to lose, with all the auxiliary BS which needs to be installed to make the vehicle capable of being "self contained".

Now, I said this before, and apparently you missed it. It was cost prohibitive for the PRR to wire from Philly to the Jersey shore resorts, and they ran steam locomotives to the shore points.

Now what has changed since then? We have even less money to screw around with electric infrastructure than we did back then.

Now, you're showing me all this great electric "innovation", but it's in a high traffic, high passenger volume, densely packed urban environment. AFAIK, and I also seriously doubt on instinct, that Seattle has a whole heck of a lot of low traffic "cow paths", that these electric trains & trolley buses are wired to serve.

BTW, the US government just loaned 569 million dollars to Amtrack, for those 100 locomotives.

We've had plenty of railroad bankruptcies, including those of the,"energy efficient", and, "environmentally friendly" variety. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrail